Rents for council house tenants in Falkirk will rise by two per cent this year, councillors have agreed.
A meeting of Falkirk Council today (Thursday) heard it was thought to be the lowest rent rise of any announced by Scottish local authorities this year.
The two per cent rise had been expected by tenants as this is the final year of a three-year agreement with them following a consultation.
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The SNP's housing portfolio holder, Councillor Gary Bouse, said: "This fulfils the administration, and council's agreement with the tenants of Falkirk Council."
He said it also fell well within the Scottish Government's bill to protect tenants against the cost of living crisis, which means rents cannot rise any higher than £5 a week.
Councillor Bouse praised housing officers for their work, saying the council having the fifth lowest rent; the 15th highest level of repairs and improvement expenditure per house; and the seventh lowest supervision and management costs was to be commended.
The rent rise, he said, was also necessary to make sure that work to improve energy efficiency, such as new windows and doors, could continue.
A report to councillors highlights that a two per cent hike will mean an average increase of £1.47, taking the average weekly rent to £74.82.
Members heard that all of the council's spending on housing must be self-financing through its rents.
But there was an awareness that any kind of rise just now could be very difficult for some tenants and rent arrears are currently very high.
A Scottish Government ban on evictions has also increased the number of people in rent arrears and councillors agreed to create a £250,000 fund to help people struggling to pay.
Although the fund has not yet been set up, it is likely to offer some sort of match funding to people paying off arrears.
Councillors were reminded that around 9000 of the council's 16,250 tenants get housing benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit, which means those on the lowest incomes will be fully protected from any increase.
But opposition councillors said that many more people are being affected by the cost of living rises and urged the council to take action to help.
Independent councillor Robert Spears said: "The majority of people using food banks now are working people who are having difficulty with their mortgage increase, their energy bills and trying to keep their home together and feed their families.
"We need to help everybody, especially working people who are trying to keep everything together."
Head of housing Kenny Gillespie said the council was trying to offer tenants help as soon as it was apparent they were struggling.
Councillors also approved new members of staff who will identify tenants who need assistance to manage their finances as early as possible to prevent arrears.
There was, however, a warning for councillors that with construction inflation currently at 17 per cent and the cost of borrowing remaining high, a higher rent rise would be needed over the next few years.
While no decision was made on next year's rents, councillors were told a four per cent increase was likely to be necessary.
